'Avengers: Age of Ultron': Joss Whedon sheds some light on just who (or what) the new villain is

It was the talk of Comic-Con 2013 on Saturday (July 20): Marvel
unveiled the official title for their highly-anticipated "Avengers" sequel. And though hearing
"The Avengers: Age of Ultron" was cause for excitement, it also was cause for confusion among those who aren't studiously versed in Marvel Comics lore. Just who (or what) is Ultron?

First, some history of Ultron: "The Age of Ultron" is a ten-issue comic series that ran earlier in 2013 and centered around the robot Ultron as he attempts to take over the world by spending time in the future and using his creation, an android named Vision, as a method of destruction in the present. Yeah, it's a head trip.

But that's not where Ultron got his (its?) start. The back story dates back to Avengers #54 in 1968. Ultron was created by Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man (who is the star of his own Marvel film coming in Nov. 2015). Ultron eventually becomes self-aware, rebels against Pym and brainwashes him to forget he ever created him in the first place. And then he, you know, tries to take over the universe.

Knowing Ultron's history, there are several questions about just how he's going to be incorporated into the upcoming film. Chief among them? Will Ant-Man appear ahead of his own film? ("Age of Ultron" opens in Summer of 2015.)

Shortly after revealing the film's title, director
Joss Whedon spoke with Marvel LIVE! to clear up some questions. "Well, because there was a book called 'Age of Ultron' quite recently, a lot of people have assumed that is what we're doing, but that is not the case," Whedon says. "We're doing our own version of the origin story for Ultron. In the origin story, there was Hank Pym, so a lot of people assumed that he will be in the mix. He's not. We're basically taking the things from the comics for the movies that we need and can use. A lot of stuff has to fall by the wayside."

Alright, so Hank Pym won't be around. So, who does create Ultron, then? Whedon obviously plays coy, but does offer some hints as to how he plans to reinvent the story. "We're crafting our own version of it where his origin comes more directly from The Avengers we already know about. It's a little bit darker than the other film because Ultron is in the house. There's a science fiction theme that wasn't there in the other one. Ultron is definitely something that evolves, so we're going to get together a couple of different iterations. Nothing can be translated exactly as it was from the comics; particularly Ultron."

Watch Whedon explain in his own words below and let us know: Are you looking forward to seeing how Ultron is incorporated into the upcoming "Avengers" sequel?